The present invention relates generally to methods and systems to share, disseminate, and contribute review-enabled content. A central application is employed that implements review and ratings functionality.
In today's marketplace, consumers are flooded with information from various sources regarding desired goods and services and other data. Some of this information is biased in some manner based at least in part upon the party responsible for dissemination of the information. In some circumstances, the information provided to consumers is in the form of advertisements and other promotional materials designed to influence the consumer. Similarly, information can be prejudiced against one or more goods and/or services providers. This information can originate from a competitive good and/or service provider or a third party. Thus, a consumer is left to determine if the information they are receiving is influenced in any way.
In contrast to parties interested in promoting their own products or services or discounting others goods or services, consumers can disseminate information. Typically, consumers have no vested interest in providing information to others regarding goods and/or services. In many cases, consumers wish to relate their own personal experience and constructive feedback. Such information can be provided to other consumers in order to provide help regarding the quality, service, support, technical aspects, etc. of a good or service. Since consumers share the common interest of receiving value, quality, product support, etc. from those providing the goods or services, there is an inherent trust level that accompanies the information disseminated from one consumer to another.
However, the information provided by a consumer can have some inherent flaws. For example, this information can be provided by a consumer who was unfairly treated, had some misconceptions regarding the product and/or service, had some bias against the good or service provider, etc. In addition, a consumer can have shortcomings related to their exposure to the overall marketplace, technical expertise, ability to articulate, etc. Thus, information provided by a consumer should be considered in the context of their personal experience.
In one example, a first consumer has purchased only a single type of digital camera and did no research before making such a purchase. In another example, a second consumer has purchased several digital cameras from a plurality of various manufacturers and is familiar with the technical features of each product. It is likely the information provided by the first consumer will have shortcomings associated with it based on the limited personal experience of the first consumer. Thus, this information may not be as valuable to other consumers. In contrast, the information provided by the second consumer will likely be of greater value to other consumers.
Information provided to consumers from other consumers can be particularly appropriate when a consumer is researching a specific good or service. In one example, a consumer can research a good on one or more websites via the Internet. Such websites can be created by the manufacturer of the good (or provider of the service) or by one or more associated sales channels. The website content can include technical aspects of the good or service, a list of features, price, service options, etc. The consumer can review this information and try to determine which good or service best suits their needs.
In order to make a more informed purchasing decision, information from one or more consumers (in addition to information from the good or service provider) can give a consumer more balanced and thus more helpful information. The bias of a manufacturer can be tempered by the relative uninfluenced information provided by consumers. Providing such information in a web based setting can be particularly helpful to a consumer trying to determine which good or service to select for purchase since web based searches tend to provide a high density of data for the consumer to view.
There is a need for improved systems and methods that allow consumers to receive information from one or more disparate consumers in a web based setting regarding one or more items. This information needs to have additional data associated therewith to allow a consumer to determine the value of the information. In addition, if desired, a consumer should be able to provide information regarding one or more items for others to review.